Brit Bennett is an American author and essayist known for her critically acclaimed novels, "The Mothers" and "The Vanishing Half." She was born and raised in Southern California and attended Stanford University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in English. Bennett went on to receive her MFA in fiction from the University of Michigan. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and The Paris Review, among others. In addition to her writing, Bennett has taught creative writing at the University of Michigan, the University of California, and other institutions. She has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including a National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" award and a PEN/Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction.